Public health interventions for addressing childhood overweight: Analysis of the business case

E.A. Finkelstein and J.G. Trogdon

American Journal of Public Health, 2008, vol. 98, issue 3, 411-415

Abstract: We investigated the appropriateness of basing childhood obesity interventions on expectations of return on investment (ROI). We show that excess weight is indeed associated with greater medical expenditures even among children and adolescents. However, under current best practices, it is unlikely that interventions will be able to meet the level of effectiveness required at a low enough implementation cost to show positive ROI. The merits of childhood obesity interventions should be based on their ability to efficiently control weight and improve health compared with alternative uses for available resources. They should not be based on the potential for short-term financial savings.

Date: 2008
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.2105/AJPH.2007.114991

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2007.114991_9

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2007.114991

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().